Michael Kan

California, San Francisco

Senior Technology Reporter at PCMag

Tech reporter at https://t.co/rZMF3srZqA [email protected]

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Articles

It's Not Just Claude: Most Top AI Models Will Also Blackmail You to Survive

1 week ago | uk.pcmag.com | Michael Kan

As AI adoption continues to grow, maybe it’s best to avoid giving a chatbot access to your entire email inbox. A new study from Anthropic finds that the top AI models can resort to blackmail and even corporate espionage in certain circumstances. Anthropic published the research on Friday, weeks after the company found that its own AI model, Claude Opus 4, can engage in extortion if its existence is threatened.
New Apple Ad Tells College Students to Dump Windows PCs for Macs

1 week ago | pcmag.com | Michael Kan

Apple is going out of the way to trash Windows PCs in a new video that urges incoming college students to adopt MacBooks. Posted on YouTube, the 7-minute video features comedian Martin Herlihy holding a lecture before a group of high school students, with the goal of teaching them how to convince their parents to buy them a Mac for college.
Starlink Imposes Eye-Popping 'Demand Surcharge' for New Sign-Ups in This State

1 week ago | pcmag.com | Michael Kan

It looks like SpaceX's Starlink really doesn’t want to take on new customers in parts of Washington state. The company is forcing new customers in the area to pay an extra $750 to subscribe to the Starlink residential plan. The extremely high “demand surcharge” began popping up on Thursday, according to one Facebook user in Washington, who noticed the extra $750 fee.
Starlink Imposes Eye-Popping 'Demand Surcharge' for New Sign-Ups in This State

1 week ago | flipboard.com | Michael Kan

NowI found the easiest way to delete myself from the internet (and you shouldn't wait to use it, too)If you're looking for a data removal service that can remove you from data broker sales lists and people search websites, Incogni should be on your …4 hours agoYour Apple Watch Is About to Get a Pretty Cool New AbilityApple is gearing up to give your Apple Watch some of your iPhone’s standout features.
Aflac Confirms Breach as Hackers Target US Insurance Providers

1 week ago | pcmag.com | Michael Kan

Aflac is warning that a cybercriminal gang briefly breached its systems as part of an ongoing hacking campaign against insurance providers. Aflac noticed "suspicious activity" on its network on Thursday, June 12, at which point its cybersecurity team stepped in to prevent any malware from being installed. “We promptly initiated our cyber incident response protocols and stopped the intrusion within hours,” Aflac said in a Friday notice.
Reboot the Dragon? China Taps AI to Remake Kung Fu Films

1 week ago | pcmag.com | Michael Kan

Nothing is sacred?
Reboot the Dragon? China Taps AI to Remake Kung Fu Films

1 week ago | flipboard.com | Michael Kan

1 hour agoWith martial arts trickery and action sensibilities, Rematch reinvents soccer video games as an exhilarating bulletless shooter. The video game Rematch isn’t soccer as seen on television or EA Sports FC. The camera sits low, centered behind one player, not the familiar broadcast angle from the …
Fall for a Crypto Scam? The FBI Might Help You Get Your Money Back

1 week ago | pcmag.com | Michael Kan

In a rarity, the US is moving to claw back $225 million that victims lost to cryptocurrency investment scams, which continue to hit unsuspecting consumers. On Wednesday, the Justice Department filed a civil forfeiture complaint in a US district court to recover $225.3 million in Tether cryptocurrency from seven virtual currency addresses. The goal is to return the funds to the rightful owners; the list includes at least 430 victims, according to the Justice Department’s complaint.
Zoom Call With 'Execs' Turns Out to Be North Koreans Using AI Deepfakes

1 week ago | share.google | Michael Kan

To spread macOS malware, a notorious North Korean hacking group used AI deepfakes to impersonate executives during a video call with their target: an unsuspecting employee. Cybersecurity vendor Huntress reported the incident on Wednesday, and has linked the attack to "BlueNoroff," a unit of Lazarus, North Korea’s state-sponsored hacking group. The North Koreans targeted an employee at an unnamed "cryptocurrency foundation," Huntress wrote in a blog post.
Noticed More Ads on Max? You’re Not Imagining Things

1 week ago | pcmag.com | Michael Kan

If you suspect more commercials have been popping up on Max, you aren’t wrong. The streaming service has quietly increased the ad load by 50%, according to PCWorld, which spotted Warner Bros. Discovery mentioning the change in the company’s support pages. The ad-based streaming plan for Max originally capped the ad load to “about 4 minutes per hour,” according to archived views of the support pages. But sometime in late February, Warner Bros.